Week 8- Half Marathon Training update

Being someone who is very motivated by accomplishments (although I'm trying to be more intentional about living in the present!), the 13 in 2013 Running Challenge I've been participating in this year has been a HUGE motivator for me. Not only is it a push forward when I register for my next race; it's also a commitment to follow through on, a challenge to build more speed and add more miles.

Case in point is the Detroit Free Press National Half Marathon in October. I signed up in January, knowing that I would have a long time to train and that a "stretch goal" could be a great motivator. When I started my most recent foray into fitness back in September, I'd run two 5ks in my life previous; not necessarily defining myself as any kind of runner! When I first hopped on that treadmill in September, I started out at a "Couch to 5K" level, essentially: Run 3 mins, Walk 1, repeat. It was hard for me to even finish 3.1 miles this way; it took me about 45 minutes.

Fast forward 6 months to now- Last weekend, I ran 3.1 miles without stopping, in 25 minutes and 48 seconds- What?! Today, I ran 9 miles, my new longest distance. I've averaging between 10-15 miles per week.

Here's what my running log looked like this week:

Overall, Half Marathon training is going well. I've been running 3x a week- this usually takes the form of 1 easy run, 1 hill rep, and 1 long run. Easy runs are averaging between 2.5-4 miles, hill reps are usually 3.1 miles, and I'm trying to build my mileage base on my long run days with a .5 mile increase each week. I'm thinking about stepping up to 4 days of running a week- ideally I'd like to add a race-pace run for whatever upcoming run I have.

On "off days" or "non-run days" to be more accurate, I am doing 45-60 minutes of strength training, along with some core work and at least one yoga class per week. Although I am definitely loving running and looking to improve, building strength through weight lifting is a big fitness priority for me as well- I don't want to have to choose one vs. the other!

This week's workout schedule:

Mon: Easy run (2.5 miles) & abs
Tues: #stronglifts 
Wed: 5 mile run @ race pace
Thurs: #stronglifts & yoga 
Fri: Hill reps run  (3.1 miles)
Sat: #stronglifts 
Sun: 9.5 mi run

Total Mileage: 20.1

What are you workout plans for the week? 

Planning to get a run in? How about some weight training? Please share!

Fitness Friday

I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after a week-long 'hiatus' of sorts. Last Wednesday I somehow re-aggravated my neck injury (it seems to re-appear every March anyway), and that was FRUSTRATING! I spent several days feeling sorry for myself and beating myself up, along the lines of, "What did I do wrong?", "Why is this happpening to me?". Then I got over it. Although I did sort of whine like a baby, I am proud of three things during this week:

• I did not turn to emotional eating to comfort myself, & constitently logged my calories & exercise
• I continued to work out, even if it was just walking/slower running vs. my usual StrongLifts routine
• I took the injury seriously- I iced my neck/back almost every day, as well as spent time in the hot tub

These are three things I would have had a hard time doing 6 months or a year ago, and it feels great to know that my habits have changed for the better.

I also had a realization, which I shared on Twitter this week:

Kinda goofy, I know! But after taking a 5 day break from pushing it hard at my workouts like I usually do, I couldn't resist- on Sunday, I ran at an all-out pace for 6 miles. It felt AWESOME! I didn't realize how much I has missed running, and pushing myself that hard, but boy did I! Realizing that was probably my high of the week!

What was your high of the week?

Race Schedule- My Plan for 13 in 2013

As I've mentioned, I'm planning to run 13 races this year, or 1 per month, with one extra! Why did I decide to do this crazy thing? Two simple reasons: Motivation. Accountability.

Here's my race list for the year. I've registered for some of these, and others are just races I'm interested in.


It's been fun and exciting to searching for races in the area, decide what distances I want to run, and even set some "stretch goals" for myself. The big GLARING stretch goal on that list is a HALF MARATHON- WtF?!?! The fact that I registered for the Freep Half Marathon is probably a good indicator of two things: 1) I'm crazy! and 2) I have really changed my habits in the past 5 months! As my hubs pointed out, "Last year, you would have been like, 'Run one mile? Nooo!!!'"

I'm scaling up in mileage accordingly, both trying to grow my weekly base of miles run total, as well as building up to be able to run 13.1 miles in. a. row. This week, I ran 12 miles total, and my longest run was a 6 miler, aka 10 km, which is my longest distance run to date; I still have some work to do! Luckily, I have 8.5 months to train. Oh goodie!

Here are links to some of the races I'm thinking about. If you're a fellow Southeastern Michigan runner, or a #runchat buddy from afar who'll be in town, I'd love to run with you- let me know!

Join Me!
Commitment Day 5k
SuperBowl 5k
Shamrocks and Shenanigans
Falcon 5 Miler
Run 4 a Reason
Girls on the Run 5k
Dexter-Ann Arbor Run
MOTTEP Life Walk/Run
Island Lake Sprint Triathlon
Birch Run Charity 10k
Detroit Free Press Half Marathon

I'm still deciding on a training plan for the Freep. 
Any Half Marathon training suggestions, or tips for a newbie?